Despite decreasing its poverty level to its lowest point since 2008, still almost a quarter of Philadelphia residents live below the poverty line.

In response, city leadership has put forth a number of initiatives and ideas to make more dents in the poverty problem. One of them is a doubling down on urging residents to apply for federal earned income tax credit (EITC).

On Jan. 31, officials, including Mayor Jim Kenney and Councilmember Allan Domb, were on hand to announce the city’s annual “You Earned It Philly” campaign.

For this year’s version, Philadelphia has partnered with The Campaign for Working Families, Ceiba and Pathways PA to get the word out about the program.

“All of us have a responsibility for the residents of Philadelphia to do what we can to make sure they receive what potentially could be thousands of extra dollars in tax refunds,” said Mayor Kenney at a press conference in one of the 27 locations residents can receive free tax-prep services (including info about the earned income tax credit).

Federal earned income tax credit isn’t something new. It was first enacted in 1975 under President Gerald Ford, but expanded under President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

In Philadelphia, 188,000 residents already take advantage of EITC, but the city estimates over 45,000 are still eligible for refunds, which could bring $113 million more to Philly.

The eligible incomes are determined based on the amount of children and dependents, and range between $15,570 for a single head of household with no children to $55,952 for married couples with three or more children.

The maximum refund possible is $6,557.

“Whatever we need to do to get the word out, we need to do,” said Councilmember Allan Domb. “If you don’t qualify, tell five people about it.”

In the past, City Council has passed legislation that also requires businesses employing 20 or more to distribute information about EITC along with tax forms.

Another issue potentially facing organizations like Ceiba is a lack of trust for government agencies.

Much like the U.S. Census Bureau’s battle combating misinformation surrounding the upcoming census, the IRS is also often seen as another “big, scary government agency” to avoid giving information to.

“Is my information safe? Is my family going to be safe?” were some of the questions Lomeli cited.

In addition to reassuring that the IRS (like the Census Bureau) will never give out personal information, he said the mindset also reinforces the need for community-based and government organizations to be part getting the word out.